My experience today was opposite! I have had a wife for 57 years. She is the sweetest and kindest woman in the world. Her cooking is even better than my mothers or grandmothers. She usually does all the cooking except my breakfast which I make myself. Dry cereal and milk (which to me is a complicated meal). Back about 65 years ago I did some cooking in Boy Scouts, but it wasn't very good.

Today she has the flu and I wanted to help her by cooking dinner. Now even though I did all the work and she told me what to do. Wash and remove eyes from potatoes, Flour and sprinkle onion soup on the pre pounded cube steak, brown the steak and put pre packed mushrooms on it and bake for 25 minutes at 350. Open 2 cans of corn and heat for about 5 or 10 minutes and microwave the potatoes for 15 minutes. Set the table, pour her water etc.

Now I think this was the best meal I have ever cooked and when it was over, I asked her how she liked it. Her answer was, "Thank you for cooking dinner" She didn't make any comment about the food even though I did it exactly as she told me!

Last time I bought paper plates was 6-19-13, 500 for $11.30. That's a little over 2¢ each. Still on that package. May have to get more this spring. No plastic flatware. ($$$) I toss stainless spoons, forks, & knives into a tub of dishwater to soak. Every couple of weeks I wash them with hot water and dish soap. I don't cook much, but wash pots & pans when I use them. I don't spend much time in the kitchen except to eat. I'd rather use the time for T's and other projects.

Grandson goes to visit his grandad, who lives in the mountains at his gold mine. Grandpa serves him Lunch & the go on about their day. Suppertime comes, and the grandson says, "Grandad, are these dishes clean? I can still see parts of lunch on them" "That's the best cold water can do." He spends the night, and at breakfast, "Grandpa, I can still see parts of dinner on this plate!" "That's the best cold water can do." After breakfast the grandson gets ready to go home. "Grandpa, your dog won't let me out the door!" "Oh, he gets that way sometimes; Cold Water, come 'ere boy!"

Occasionally the Festerbludgeons would drop in to visit the Spurtclabbers. They were peasant enough folks, so he Spurtclabbers didn't mind visiting, but they always showed up within an hour of mealtime, and stayed, and stayed, and stayed, until Mrs. Spurtclabber felt compelled to invite them to say for dinner. After the third time this happened, Commissioner Pilaster T. Spurtclabber said to his wife, "Klunkuba my dear, we must put a stop to this before the Festerbludgeons eat us out of house and home." So they hatched a plan. It wasn't many weeks before Agonortus and Euthanasia Festerbludgeon came to visit again, and again it was close to mealtime, and again they stayed and stayed. As before, Mrs. Spurtclabber invited them to dine, which they did. The Spurtclabbers were perfect hosts, convivial and cordial, and the Festerbludgeons suspected nothing. When the meal was over and all were having coffee, Mrs. Spurtclabber cleared the dishes off the table and laid them out on the floor. Then Commissioner called in the dogs, who licked the plates clean, and Mrs. Spurtclabber gathered up the dishes and put them on the shelf. That was the last time the Festerbludgeons came to dinner.